Studies on electrodeposited Zn-Fe alloy coating on mild steel and its characterization

Abstract

Chloride bath containing ZnCl2 ∙7H2O, FeCl2 ∙H2O and a combination of sulphamic acid and citric acid (SA+CA) were optimized for electrodeposition of bright Zn-Fe alloy coating on the mild steel. Bath constituents and operating parameters were optimized by the Hull cell method for highest performance of the coating against corrosion. The effect of current density and temperature on deposit characteristics such as corrosion resistance, hardness, thickness, cathode current efficiency and glossiness, were studied. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) methods were used to assess corrosion behaviour. Surface morphology of coatings was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Zn-Fe alloy with intense peaks corresponding to Zn (100) and Zn (101) phases, evidenced by X-ray diffraction (XRD) study, showed the highest corrosion resistance. A new and economical chloride bath for electrodeposition of bright Zn-Fe alloy coating on mild steel was proposed and discussed.